The WCIRB governing committee voted earlier this month to authorize the WCIRB to submit a Jan. 1, 2020 advisory pure premium rate filing to the California Insurance Commissioner that will be on average 5.7% below the average approved Jan. 1, 2019 advisory pure premium rates.

The average of the Jan. 1, 2020, advisory pure premium rates is $1.58 per $100 of payroll. If adopted, this would be the ninth consecutive pure premium rate decrease since 2015 totaling roughly 45 percent.

The proposed average decrease in advisory pure premium rates reflects continued downward loss development, acceleration in claim settlements, sharply declining pharmaceutical costs and a further decline in the number of liens being filed, according to the WCIRB.

In the filing, the WCIRB also noted that factors such as increases in cumulative trauma claims, rising claim severities and continued high levels of allocated loss adjustment expenses are moderating the pure premium rate declines and warrant continued monitoring.

Once the CDI schedules a public hearing to consider the filing, a notice of proposed action and notice of public hearing will be issued.